Meditation teacher and author, Amanda Gilbert, joins Raghu to talk about living with kindness, mindfulness, freedom, intention, and compassion.
Amanda Gilbert is a modern day meditation teacher, writer and speaker. She has been a meditator for over 15 years and teaches from coast to coast in the US, including in Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego, Miami and San Francisco, as well as online. She is a professor of mindfulness at the University of Southern California and the author of Kindness Now: A 28-Day Guide to Living with Authenticity, Intention and Compassion. For more info, please visit AmandaGilbertMeditation.com
“Can we allow kindness to be synonymous with being brave, being courageous, being outspoken, being in alignment with the values and change we want to see in the world? Being kind does not mean rolling over into passivity, it doesn’t necessarily mean niceness or being a doormat. Being kind is sometimes the hardest thing we are being called to do, especially in the face of our close inner circle triggers, family and friends.” – Amanda Gilbert
A brand new Ram Dass Dharma book drops on Nov. 23rd: Preorder Ram Dass Words of Wisdom from the LSRF Shop
Finding the Path // Indigenous Elders // Meditation & Healing
Welcoming meditation/mindfulness teacher and author, Amanda Gilbert, to Mindrolling, Raghu invites her to share how she first found her way onto the spiritual path which she so gracefully walks in her life today. Amanda explains how angst and dissatisfaction propelled her to act out as a teen, and reflects on the unique situation of discovering meditation through being homeschooled in WV with a group of Native American, African, and South American Native Elders—opening her to the Indigenous Wisdom of the Four Winds.
“It was the first time that I ever meditated, it was the first time I ever felt this sense of home, safety, ease, and belonging inside of myself. And so, it was that very first moment meditating in high school in the middle of the woods in the Appalachian Mountains where I got that real taste of what I’d really been searching for unskillfully all those years prior.” – Amanda Gilbert
“Stuff that happens in all of our growing up—what we take on, what we’re handed, causes and conditions, the kind of parents that we had—elicit a certain something that is up there for transformation: ‘grist for the mill,’ as Ram Dass used to call it.” – Raghu Markus
Explore Indigenous Mindfulness as Francesca interviews Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, on Ep. 40 of ReRooted
Clinical Research // Tibetan Buddhism // Widening the Circle of Joy (14:20)
Sharing about her clinical research studying the effects of meditation, Amanda prompts Raghu to share about Richie Davidson’s and Danny Goleman’s ‘Altered Traits‘ studies on Tibetan Lama, Mingyur Rinpoche, showcasing lasting neural change through consistent practice. Through this lens, Amanda talks about the amazing positive transformations which can occur in individuals engaged within the ‘field of compassion’ of highly evolved spiritual practitioners. From here, they share on family and loving kindness.
“There were FBI agents outside, media, news cameras, practicing Buddhist monks that had gathered there from all over the United States to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I walked downstairs and felt the energy had shifted in the halls, in the conference rooms we were all gathering in. Everybody was really present that morning. It made me realize that one person’s practice really does have the capacity to ripple out and can some ways be felt for miles around us—that joy, loving awareness, and presence.” – Amanda Gilbert
Ram Dass, Danny Goleman, & Raghu discuss the meditation studies involving Mingyur Rinpoche, on Ep. 122 of Here & Now
Kindness Now // A Call From the Heart // Dismantling Kindness (36:00)
Recalling Maharajji stories highlighting the ‘Sab Ek’ (All One) nature of reality and all spiritual paths, Raghu invites Amanda to dig into core themes from her new book, Kindness Now: A 28-Day Guide to Living with Authenticity, Intention and Compassion. Speaking from the lens of a modern-day practitioner, Amanda lays out a path for what we can tangibly do out in the world with our mindfulness practice when we bring in kindness, compassion, intention, wise view, and an open heart.
“Meditation and purpose: It’s like the Bhagavad Gita—looking for results is not what’s gonna be optimum for you; but doing it because you want to get to know yourself better. Everybody has that opportunity one way or the other if you get this intention. A teacher will come, a book will come, somebody or something will come. The call will be there, and the response will be there as well.” – Raghu Markus
Nikki Walton and Sharon Salzberg discuss loving kindness and real happiness, on Ep. 20 of New Growth
